Meet Our Esteemed Speakers
Keynote Speakers
Dr. Jennifer Conway
Dr. Jennifer Conway began her medical career by receiving her MD from the University of British Columbia in 2002. She subsequently went on to complete her pediatric and cardiology training at the IWK Health Center in Nova Scotia. Following, she underwent further subspecialty training at The Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto in pediatric heart transplant, heart function and mechanical support.
She continued on at the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto until June 2013 and joined the team at the Stollery Children’s Hospital in Edmonton over 1 year ago. Her subspecialty training, career to date and research interests, have been directed towards the care of children with end stage heart failure including mechanical assist devices and transplantation.
Bronwyn Huffman
Bronwyn Huffman was diagnosed with pediatric acute myeloid leukemia (AML) on January 15, 2012. On May 16th, 2012 she suffered heart failure as a result of the chemotherapy. Due to the heart failure, she required a Left Ventricular Assist Device to help propel blood throughout her body. On April 9th, 2014 she received a life-altering heart transplant and is now attending Hammerskjold Highschool.
Guest Speakers
Michel R. Le May, MD, FRCPC
- Interventional Cardiologist
- Professor of Medicine
- Director Coronary Care Unit
- Director Coronary Care Unit Research
- University of Ottawa Heart Institute
Dr. Le May is an Interventional Cardiologist and Professor of Medicine with the University of Ottawa Heart Institute. Dr. Le May received his Medical Degree from the University of Ottawa (1978). He completed his training in Internal Medicine at the University of Southern California Medical Centre, and a fellowship in Cardiology at Emory University. Dr. Le May is the Director of the Coronary Care Unit, and Director of the University of Ottawa Heart Institute Regional STEMI Program. Dr. Le May's clinical interests include interventional cardiology and the management of acute coronary syndromes. His primary research focus is on developing novel strategies for the management of acute myocardial infarction. He has designed, completed and published several randomized studies.
He is a recognized clinical researcher with over 60 peer-reviewed manuscripts and over 100 presentations at national and international scientific meetings. He received the Clinical Science Investigator of the Year Award from the University of Ottawa in 2008 and in 2009 he received The Top Achievement CIHR Award. Dr. Le May championed the development of the Ottawa Heart Institute Regional STEMI Program. These results were published in the New England Journal of Medicine. Most recently he has pioneered the Ottawa Heart Institute Cardiac Arrest Program.
Dr. Le May's scholarly and professional activities include serving as Chief Examiner for the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada; Grant Reviewer for the Heart and Stroke Foundation, Canadian Institutes for Health Research (CIHR) and CIHR Clinical Trials, Reviewer for Circulation and the Canadian Journal of Cardiology, and more. His professional associations encompass the American College of Physicians, American College of Cardiology (FACC), Canadian Medical Association, Ontario Medical Association and the Canadian Cardiovascular Society.
Fraser Rubens, MD, MSc, FACS, FRCS(C)
A native of Kingston, Ontario, Dr. Rubens completed his medical school training at Queen's University in 1985. After completing his surgical training in Ottawa, Dr. Rubens undertook research training as a Fellow from the Medical Research Council in the Department of Pathology at McMaster University, for which he received a Masters of Science degree. This work focused on the process of thrombosis and cardiovascular devices. In 1992 he returned to Ottawa to complete his cardiothoracic training and fellowship. Dr. Rubens was certified by the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada in General Surgery in 1990 and in Cardiovascular and Thoracic Surgery in 1994. He was promoted to the rank of Full Professor in the Department of Surgery in 2006.
Dr. Rubens established an active Canadian program in the surgical treatment of chronic pulmonary embolism for which more than 150 patients have benefited which is the second largest case series in North America. The program in Ottawa receives referrals from across Canada and has been recognized as a Center of Excellence by the Province of Ontario. Dr. Rubens has extensive successful experience in minimally invasive surgery and he has been an advocate of complete arterial revascularization and novel surgical therapy for high risk patients undergoing cardiac surgery, and he has pioneered several key surgical techniques in Ottawa including radial artery bypass, descending thoracic aorta-coronary bypass, gastro-epiploic bypass, stentless valve surgery, arterial y-grafting, axiliary artery cannulation, mammary artery skeletonization, arterial grafting in the elderly and novel techniques in off-pump surgery.
Dr. Rubens' research has focused on improving the outcomes of patients undergoing surgery with the heart-lung machine. Dr. Rubens has been the principal investigator for several peer-reviewed grants from the Canadian Institute of Health Research and the Heart and Stroke Foundation and he has served as an internal scientific reviewer for the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada. He has over 150 peer-reviewed publications, review articles, abstracts and book chapters. He is also a popular speaker, having given over 75 invited lectures in Canada and abroad on the pathophysiology of cardiopulmonary bypass, chronic pulmonary embolism, and blood conservation. He is a member of the Canadian Cardiovascular Society, the American Heart Association, the Society of Thoracic Surgery, the American College of Surgeons and the Canadian Society of Cardiac Surgeons. Dr. Rubens is also the program director for the Cardiac Surgery Residency Training Program at the University of Ottawa and he has won numerous awards for his novel teaching techniques.
Organizational Speakers
Adrianne Shippam
Adrianne Shippam graduated from the University of Toronto in 2008 and subsequently completed the Advanced Cardiology Practice program. Adrianne has been employed by the Thunder Bay Regional Sciences Centre (TBRHSC) for the past 7 years and is currently the Clinical Pharmacy Specialist for the cardiology department including the inpatient unit as well as the cardiac cath lab. She participates in a multidisciplinary team environment in these areas and is a member of the Cardiovascular and Stroke Council and the Pharmacy and Therapeutics committee. She is also currently the Northwest Chapter Chair for CSHP.
Adrianne is a teaching associate for the Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy and University of Waterloo Pharm D program, and is also involved in nursing education for the cardiology department at TBRHSC.
Andrea MacDougall, BSc, MD, FRCP(C)
- Medical Program Director - Cardiovascular and Stroke Program
- Division Head - Cardiology
Dr. MacDougall was born and raised in Calgary, and completed undergraduate studies at the University of Calgary. She completed medical school at the University of Alberta, followed by residencies in Internal Medicine and Cardiology at the University of Saskatchewan. Dr. MacDougall completed additional fellowship training in Interventional Cardiology at the Ottawa Heart Institute before joining the Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre as a clinical and interventional cardiologist in 2011.
Dr. Ian Billingsley
Dr. Gary Small
Dr. Mark Henderson
- Executive Vice President, Patient Services, TBRHSC
- Regional Vice President, Cancer Care Ontario
A respected medical practitioner, Dr. Mark Henderson was appointed Executive Vice President of Patient Services for Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre and Regional Vice President for Cancer Care Ontario, Northwest Regional Cancer Program on September 4, 2012. Dr. Henderson was previously the Medical Director of the Cardiovascular and Stroke Program at TBRHSC. With more than 30 years clinical experience, Dr. Henderson is a leading interventional cardiologist who has served as an associate professor of medicine at University of Toronto and Dalhousie medical schools and held a number of senior leadership positions in cardiac programs including: Director of Coronary Care Unit, Toronto General and Victoria General Hospital (Halifax); Director of the Cardiac Catheterization Lab, Royal Columbian Hospital (Vancouver) and Victoria General Hospital (Halifax); and Head, Department of Cardiac Services, at Royal Columbian Hospital (Vancouver).
Dr. Henderson received his medical training at King's College Hospital Medical School, University of London, U.K. He moved to Canada in 1977 and continued his studies with the University of Toronto, completing his Internal Medical specialty at Wellesley Hospital, Toronto, in 1979. His Cardiology fellowship was completed at the Toronto General Hospital in 1982. His practice has been largely in Interventional Cardiology.
